"Ugh... my head..."
Yu-Han sat up, reciting a line that felt like someone else had already said. Upon standing, he realized his attire had changed into a commoner's outfit made of cotton fromKorea's past—the Joseon Dynasty.
"Damn it! What is this?"
He tried to summon a new set of clothes, but it didn't work. It seemed the realm that swallowed them was cut off from the outside world.
Furthermore, Manager Yu Seo-Yeon, who had been swept up with him, was lying unconscious nearby. However, the Hanbok she was wearing consisted of a short, underboob-style top and a traditional long skirt with a high side slit.
'Why does she have to look like that of all things!?'
According to records, short jeogori tops were fashionable during the late Joseon era. Supposedly, it was to show off femininity by indicating one had borne children, and for practical reasons like easy breastfeeding.
But Yu Seo-Yeon was not a woman of the Joseon era, and if she woke up to see her own state and Yu-Han looking at her...
Having finished his simulation, Yu-Han lay back down and pretended to be unconscious.
"Ugh... my head... Where is this..."
It seemed Yu Seo-Yeon had woken up just in time. For a while, an unnatural silence hung in the air.
"!!?"
'She must have seen herself...'
Sounds of rustling movements and a deep sigh followed. Yu-Han decided this was the moment and sat up, pretending to know nothing.
"Argh... My head~!"
"Ha, you're finally up."
Yu Seo-Yeon greeted the awakened Yu-Han with a cold, professional face. Though her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"...Why are your clothes like that?"
"It must be a magic avatar forced upon us by the enemy's realm. However, I won't be shaken by something like this. Before I am a woman, I am a combatant."
"You sound pretty shaken just by saying that out loud..."
When Yu-Han spoke, Yu Seo-Yeon glared at him with the eyes of a raptor, looking ready to kill him. Clearly, she had many complaints about the current situation as well.
In times like this, the social skill 'Act Serious' is the best way to make an angry opponent look foolish. Yu-Han put on a serious expression devoid of laughter.
"First... we need to assess the situation. The lunatic sent by Kim Je-Hyeon trapped us in this realm."
"Kim Je-Hyeon? Why would he target you?"
"He's the one who put the bounty on our heads in the first place."
Yu-Han explained how Kim Je-Hyeon came to target them. Yu Seo-Yeon nodded seriously at his words, but every time she did, her chest moved, driving Yu-Han crazy. He desperately changed the subject.
"A-Anyway! The only way to leave this realm is to cooperate!"
"Hmph... I guess it can't be helped for now... Let's settle this after we dispose of that lunatic."
The dirty alleyway that was District B-4 had been transformed into a marketplace inside a Joseon Dynasty capital city due to the realm. And in the distance, a building with a conspicuously large and flashy tiled roof stood out... Anyone could see that the lunatic was definitely there.
***
Meanwhile, Alice and Kim Ga-Eun had also woken up wearing Hanbok.
"Alice C. Did you notice? The people on the street here... They look like the people from District B-4."
"You're right. That person... is the convenience store manager next door!"
But that convenience store manager was dressed in Hanbok, selling goods as a Joseon merchant. Seeing this, Kim Ga-Eun's eyes sparkled.
"This is fun! Over there, that's the owner of the BBQ restaurant!"
"Ha, not bad? Then that one over there is the owner of the cosmetics shop! That makes two points for me, right?"
While the two were suddenly engaged in a strange competition, Yi Rang shouted from behind, sounding aggrieved. For some reason, she alone was wearing a tiger mascot suit.
"This ain't the time for that!! More importantly, why am I the only one playin' an animal instead of a human!?"
"Calm down, Yi Rang C. Getting angry won't change anything!"
Kim Ga-Eun reassured everyone with a relaxed smile, even in this incomprehensible situation. Watching her, Alice felt that a veteran was indeed a veteran, even if she was younger.
"Then Ga-Eun. What should we do first in a situation like this?"
"Step one is to find out who the enemy is!"
"And then...?"
"Next, we just have to kill all those enemies!"
Alice wanted to retract her thought about her being a veteran.
Just then, Joseon-constables popped out and surrounded Alice's group.
"Found them!! The two women and the tiger our Lord ordered us to find! Capture them all alive!!"
However, Alice wasn't particularly nervous. From what she had observed, the enemies seemed obsessed with the Joseon concept. Joseon era weapons would only amount to cold weapons or matchlocks, so there was no way she, with her android body, would lose!
"That thing is a robot! Fire the EMP!"
"What?"
A light flashed, and Alice's body staggered. A warning window popped up in her mind: 'Electromagnetic attack detected'.
"No, how can Joseon people use EMPs?!"
"Ignorant fools... You don't know real history. Joseon ruled the entire world with technology centuries ahead of its time! But the evil Deep State joined hands with Finland to destroy Joseon and distort history... If not for our Lord, we would have never known this truth!"
"Th-That's stupid..."
Kim Ga-Eun and Yi Rang blocked the path in front of Alice, who couldn't control her body.
"Alice C! We'll protect you! You're ready, right, Yi Rang C?"
"Yeah! Leave it to me!"
Transforming into a monster and a tiger, they began to beat down the rushing constables. However, the constables didn't go down as easily as expected.
"...Also, Joseon was the nation that wielded the most advanced magic... Though it was all lost due to the Japanese Empire's schemes!"
"I've never heard of such history!?"
"If you don't know, learn! A nation that forgets its history has no future!"
A chaotic battle where fire and lightning flew...
At that moment, two assassins in black clothes and masks appeared next to the collapsed Alice, grabbed her by both arms, and disappeared.
'...You said you'd protect me, but you weren't much help!'
Alice lamented as she watched her two colleagues engrossed in the fight.
***
The place where Alice was bound and dragged to was the royal bedchamber located in the deepest part of the palace. Yi Gwang-Cheol was lying on his side, leisurely propping up his head.
"Huh~ You have finally come."
"...What do you intend to do with me?"
"I am currently without a spouse. Therefore, become my Queen and make the dynasty prosper!"
"Huh... Again?"
When Alice looked disgusted, Yi Gwang-Cheol looked genuinely pitiful.
"What a poor soul. But once you escape the brainwashing of the corrupt secular world, your mind will change!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol looked straight into Alice's eyes, who was bound by binding magic, and began to chant something like a spell. Alice detected a disgusting mana emanating from him.
"The Korean people are the flawless race, and Joseon is the greatest nation... Together with me, we shall rebuild the lost dynasty!"
Alice twisted her body, rejecting the words ringing in her head.
"Flawless...? If it's such a flawless race, why does the country have so many problems...!"
"That is all because of the Japanese invasion! The corrupt habits of the Japanese Empire have defiled the Korean people...!"
"If it was a flawless race, wouldn't they have stopped the invasion in the first place?"
"!!!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol's body staggered at Alice's rebuttal. Taking advantage of this momentum, she pointed out the contradictions and tried to resist Yi Gwang-Cheol's brainwashing magic.
"In the first place, are you really a descendant of the Joseon Dynasty?"
"Of course! The surname of Joseon kings is Yi! I am also a Yi!"
"14% of the entire population has the surname Yi, does that prove anything?"
At that moment, Alice's visual sensors detected something implanted in his neck. It was an ultra-thin bio-chip, difficult to detect with the naked eye unless one used infrared sensors.
"You... Don't tell me, you were a N.O.B.I....?"
"You wench!! I went easy on you because you were cute, but you cross the line endlessly!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol drew the famous sword of Joseon, a Hwando, and decapitated Alice. Alice's head was cut off and rolled helplessly on the floor.
But that was a mistake. Even with her head cut off, Alice was still alive and reciting a mysterious spell...!
"Hiiik-! How are you alive!?"
Just as Yi Gwang-Cheol was about to smash Alice's robot head, a brilliant light filled the room. And a bird burning with holy fire appeared.
[Phoenix... I have come at the Contractor's command.]
The Phoenix burned Yi Gwang-Cheol in an instant. Meanwhile, Alice, with only her head remaining, tried to release the binding magic on her body. Fortunately, being a robot meant she didn't die even if decapitated, and her head was free from the bindings to cast magic freely.
"According to {Basics of Sealing Magic}, this magic is... Damn it! It's a magic not in the data..."
[I shall simply release it for you...]
With a single flap of the Phoenix's wings, the magic on Alice was simply lifted. Alice's neck and body were rejoined and restored by a mysterious attraction force, including electromagnetism.
"You bastard...! You weren't human, but a robot!? How dare you mock me!!", Yi Gwang-Cheol yelled.
"I didn't mock you; didn't you just misunderstand on your own?"
"It doesn't matter if you're a robot or whatever! Because all beautiful things in the world clearly belong to Joseon!"
Yi Gwang-Cheol made a few hand gestures, and he too summoned something. Smashing through the palace and appearing from the air was... the legendary ship of Joseon, the Turtle Ship.
"Turtle Ship! Destroy the invaders! Show them the power of 500 years of Joseon history!!"
The dragon-shaped figurehead of the Turtle Ship opened, and a railgun fired from its mouth, flying toward Alice and the Phoenix.
[500 years, how cute... In that case, shall I face you appropriately with about 10,000 years of history?]
At the baptism of holy fire spewing from the Phoenix's wings, even the railgun lost its momentum and melted away in vain. And massive pillars of fire soared up everywhere, beginning to burn the surrounding ground.
"W-Wait... My head... feels like it's going to split!"
When Alice clutched her head, the Phoenix looked at her with a benevolent gaze.
[It seems handling even a meager part of my power is too much for you... You are merely a mortal, so I didn't expect much. Now, I shall reduce the consumption to match your level.]
The Phoenix's size shrank enough to sit on Alice's shoulder. Of course, the size of the pillars of fire it had been spewing shrank as well.
"...Is that size really okay? Can we win?"
[It seems... from now on, I will have to face him with about 300 years of history.]
"The opponent says 500 years?"
[...It depends on your capacity as the summoner, so do your best, my child.]
And then, Yi Gwang-Cheol, who was thought to have turned to ashes, walked out of the smoke perfectly fine without a single burn mark.
"Behold! This is the power of protection possessed by the King's raiment, the Gonryongpo...! As long as I exist, Joseon is invincible!!"
"This is hopeless, really."
Alice rather wanted to hear Yu-Han's nonsense. Though she reached the conclusion that it would be worse in less than a few seconds.